Q&A: Otto Knows Talks New Music, Crazy Fans And Big Collabs

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Megan Saad | November 6, 2013 - 2:41 pm

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Otto Knows, born Otto Jettman, broke onto the music scene in 2010 with his monster hit ‘Hide and Seek’ and has since notched up a ton of chart hits and worldwide performances. He is known for his club remixes of EDM tunes and this year he co-wrote and produced Britney Spears’ song ‘Work Bitch’. VIBE caught up with the popular Swedish DJ/Producer to get the lowdown on being mentored by Sebastian Ingrosso, crazy fan stories, new music and his self-confessed favorite movie Forest Gump.

VIBE: In your recent “Knows or No?” fan competition, your revealed that your favorite movie of all time was Forest Gump, what is your favorite line from the film and why?Otto Knows: Haha, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get’, that’s the classic one, that’s the thing you take from that movie, it’s the thing you always think about. Or maybe ‘Run, Forest, Run!’ Haha. Seriously though that movie is genius, it’s like telling a story about a life that’s really incredible and you get really happy about watching that movie and yeah it’s a big movie.

What would you consider to be the most important lessons you learned from your mentor Sebastian Ingrosso?
To work hard and that no one is going to make your career. Your career is not important to anyone other than yourself. You always have to do it yourself, no one is going to do it for you. And to work hard you know. I thought I was working hard and then I saw him working and he told me ‘this is your hobby; you have to make it your life’. It’s a lifestyle and you have to put all the time you have into it.

What are your own top three favorite remixes? Why?
Wow, that’s so hard! I have to tell you that Axwell’s remix of ‘TV Rock – In The Air’ is definitely one of my favourite remixes, it brings back so many memories, and I still feel so happy when I hear it. What else… I think Alesso made a really good job on the OneRepublic track ‘If I Lose Myself’, released quite recently, I think in February. When I play that track I still get goosebumps and you can still really feel something when you hear it. That’s the most important thing for me in music, I want to feel something. And last, what shall we have err… It’s really hard. I’ll give you two that’s enough!

You also confirmed that your ultimate idol is Michael Jackson, who were your other musical influences growing up?
I listened to everything, but when my real musical interests took off it was when I heard Axwell, Seb [Ingrosso] and Eric Prydz you know when I was maybe 15/16, that was when I really got addicted to music in some kind of weird way. So I think I would have to say those three guys have been my biggest idols when it comes to my music.

What do you miss the most about home when you’re on tour?
I miss my friends, I miss my family and I miss Sweden; that safe feeling you get when you’re at home. But, I know that I’m going to be home soon, and it’s not like I’m crying about it! Of course you miss it sometimes, but it’s a part of it, and when you’re home you like it even more. If I spent all of my time there I would probably be really bored and hate it, ha. So it’s really cool to go home and feel like you’ve missed it.

Craziest tour or stalker fan memory?
I think you always get some really weird stuff on Twitter, with some people tweeting you like six times a day, which I guess is cool. They take a lot of time to tell me that they like me, which is really nice. One time there was some dudes who sent me mail to my address, like not emails, actual post to my house, which was quite creepy, but it’s ok!

What has been your most memorable show so far and why?
It’s got to be Tomorrowland, because it’s so big and there’s so much around it. It’s a huge event and its broadcast everywhere. The main stage is just so huge, and there are people from around the world so, yeah it’s definitely Tomorrowland for me so far.

Who would your dream collaboration be with? Why?
I think, well I’m a big Coldplay fan, you know of what Coldplay can do in an arena. They can make people cry, they can make people laugh. They make people feel something, without trying hard to be the coolest guys in the world, which is amazing. So yeah, I would say either Coldplay or Chris Martin on his own.

What’s next for you, have you got any upcoming music we should know about?
Yes, I have a track with Thomas Gold coming out; my own single’s coming out as well. I want to slow down on the remixes as well, you know, focus on originals instead. I think there’s going to be a lot more music coming out soon, and I’m really excited about sharing it with my followers.